Nearly $2 million in Chowchilla money was the subject of a meeting between Chowchilla city officials and state auditors on Thursday, and according to one official the city will be unaffected no matter the result.

Called a Meet and Confer, the hour-long meeting was held in Sacramento after the California Department of Finance sent a letter to Chowchilla city officials in March demanding that $1,931,451 held or used by the city’s successor agency be transferred to the Madera County Auditor-Controller’s Office.

“The letter basically said transfer that money in five days or you’re going to jail,” said Mark Lewis, Chowchilla city manager and current successor agency head.

The meeting represents the latest in a story of bureaucratic confusion and legal battles after redevelopment agencies (RDA) — some 400 agencies in cities across the state that received portions of property taxes and took out bonds to build new roads, affordable housing, or other renovation projects – were dissolved on Feb. 1, 2011...